Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd * (2003, Derek Richardson, Eric Christian Olsen, Eugene Levy) – Classic Movie Review 1964

Two incredibly silly high-school boys called Harry and Lloyd get unwittingly mixed up in the scam when their mean School Principal conspires with the dinner lady to perpetrate a fraud.

Derek Richardson (as Harry Dunne) and Eric Christian Olsen (Lloyd Christmas) brilliantly take off the young Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, the two total idiots from Dumb and Dumber (1994), in co-writer/director Troy Miller’s nincompoop, reprehensible, gleefully sexist and racist 2003 prequel farce, aimed mainly for teenage boys. To be fair, judged strictly as a piece of professional work, there’s nothing particularly wrong with Robert Brenner’s original story and his screenplay written with Miller.

And the two stars are game for a laugh, but the 80s high school-set movie is even dumbererer than before! Luis Guzman (Ray), Mimi Rogers (Mrs Dunne), Cheri Oteri (as the dinner lady) and Eugene Levy (School Principal Collins) are all comedy assets here. Rachel Nichols, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Lin Shaye, Julia Duffy and Shia LaBeouf also co-star.

The relative failure of Dumb and Dumberer happily looked like it terminated Harry and Lloyd for ever, till Dumb and Dumber To appeared in 2014. Even so, on a cost of $19million, Dumb and Dumberer took $26million in the US and $12million more worldwide.

Richardson is married to Franka Potente. Olsen is married to Sarah Wright.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1964

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